Book picks similar to
The Dark Heart of Night by Vincent McCaffrey
mystery
interesting
hist-fiction
genre-myst-thrill-susp-historical
Sons of the Pope
Daniel O'Connor - 2012
Bravo!" ~Romeo Tirone, Director of True Blood, Dexter, and Red Widow “Daniel O'Connor's Sons of the Pope reveals an interesting new talent with a snappy style. This is someone's career to watch.” ~Andrew Neiderman, Author of The Devil's Advocate and several V.C. Andrews novels"A rich, epic chronicle of murder, the mob, and miracles...” ~ Kevin O'Brien, NY Times Bestselling Author***In Brooklyn, before the murders, before the miracle, before the 1940s were gone forever, there was a tree. If only they let that tree alone. If that sycamore tree had been allowed to stand, then maybe Biaggio Falcone never would have been the head of the Campigotto crime family. Perhaps little Joey Salerno would not have been born like that.Joey’s father, Sal - just home from World War II - probably would never have gotten involved with the New York underworld, and his wife Mary wouldn't have spent her entire life caring for an eternal child. There may have been no reason, four decades later, for that desperate pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. And no need for anyone to call upon the one known only as The Diabolist. Experience the richness of a story that spans half a century. Love and hatred. Devotion and betrayal. Murder and miracles. If only they let that tree alone.
Facing the Storm
David DeLee - 2018
When the command was decommissioned, rather than accept re-assignment, Bannon retired from the full-time Coast Guard.But Bannon didn't leave the Coast Guard behind completely. He remains in the Reserves.Recruited by the Secretary of Homeland Security, he leads a small, secretive team of specially-trained, highly-skilled operatives capable of responding to and investigating specific, targeted threats against the homeland. Threats that cannot be effectively handled by standard operating means. Threats that call for a unique and often secret approach outside the normal channels of either Homeland Security or the Department of Defense.When not risking his life for the government, Bannon runs the Keel Haul, his bar in the resort town of Hampton Beach, on the New Hampshire seacoast. There, he also operates as a small town private investigator and tends to get himself in big trouble along with the help of his two best friends and teammates; Tarakesh "Blades" Sardana and CWO Skyjack McMurphy.Book 1 in the pulse-pounding Brice Bannon Seacoast Adventure seriesDon't miss any of David DeLee's explosive Brice Bannon Seacoast Adventures:FACING THE STORM * THE OCEANIC PRINCESS * STRIKE OF THE STINGRAY * THE YAKUZA GAMBIT * THE LEVIATHAN CONSPIRACY (coming soon)
Non-Suspicious: A Detective Brook Deelman Mystery
Ed Church - 2020
Homicide can’t see anything suspicious. In fact, the only person asking questions is a jaded Met detective with breakfast beers on his mind. Shame for the killer…You shouldn’t underestimate Brook Deelman.Standing between Brook and the truth: a police cover-up, a professional hitman, and a dark secret going back to the final throes of WW2. But what exactly happened in those last days at Stalag IV-B? And why is the past catching up with people now?In a web of loyalty and betrayal, revenge and redemption, an old police saying has never been truer: Assume nothing. The closer Brook Deelman gets to the heart of the conspiracy… the more seismic the twists will become.
Power Trip (Eric Swan, #1)
Dom Testa - 2019
Eric Swan is a modern mashup of James Bond and Fletch.” - Charlie Keaton, author and founder of Brubaker Creative Eric Swan can be killed - but he can never die. For a government agent hunting the most dangerous domestic terrorists, that comes in handy. But Swan is beginning to question his own humanity. Is technology turning this Q2 secret agent into a monster himself? Now villainous brother-sister twins, fueled by a lust for power and revenge, have set their sights on taking down the power grid. And they’ve hired an army of mercenaries to protect them. The clock is ticking with millions of lives at stake, and Swan must battle an army of killers while questioning the authenticity of his own soul. If he fails, the country will slip into a dark age of chaos and anarchy. Power Trip is the first book in the Eric Swan thriller series. If you enjoy a dynamic fusion of action and intrigue, with a solid dose of humor, you’ll love Dom Testa’s Eric Swan novels. Get your copy now and discover the most entertaining and unique spy series in years.
No Time To Bleed: Austin Conrad Thriller #2
Dusty Sharp - 2017
So Austin Conrad wrote his own when he decided to get the hell out. Now he’s the target of the MC’s ruthless president, who’s hell-bent to silence Austin to keep his own dark secrets buried. Set along the back roads of southern California’s Mojave Desert, the story comes to its thrilling climax among the abandoned ghost town of Amboy. When Austin is waylaid by a crew of murderous thugs from a rogue faction of the club, the hunters become the hunted, and learn the hard way that there’s more to Austin than motorcycles and petty crime. No Time To Bleed is the action-packed debut from author Dusty Sharp. This novella-length story provides a quick introduction to anti-hero Austin Conrad, and sets the stage for further adventure and mayhem. Warning: contains violence, profanity and irreverence, in equal measure.
Treated as Murder
Noreen Wainwright - 2014
Her brother is suspected of murdering an elderly wealthy widow, and sins of the past have echoes in her life and the lives of those close to her.
Ouna Bay Cozy Mystery
Deany Ray - 2016
But Becky's life is turned upside down when someone puts their eye on her beloved Blue Bay Café. Who would want her to give up her café? And most importantly, why? Could the new, handsome man in Becky's life have anything to do with it? As things heat up and sinister events become the norm, Becky decides to take matters in her own hands. Join Becky and her best friend, Rosalie, as they try to get to the bottom of this mystery and stop the madness. VANILLA BEAN MURDER What would you do if your best friend were a person of interest in a murder investigation? Rosalie just finished the last day of her job as a cashier and she's excited to start working at Becky's Blue Bay Café. But things take a bad turn when Rosalie finds the body of the bank director who inadvertently involves her in his murder before he dies. Now it's up to Becky and Rosalie to solve the murder and re-install normality in their lives. CAKE CONTEST MURDER Everybody in Ouna Bay looks forward to the annual town fair and the cake contest. It's that time of the year when they can enjoy throwing rings around a bottle while eating snow cones and catching up with friends. But nothing will be the same this year! Ouna Bay is rocked when the most hatred woman in town drops dead smack dab in the middle of the cake contest. Once again, it's up to Becky and Rosalie to find the killer, save the Blue Bay Café and bring back sanity into town. PEANUT BUTTER CRUMBLE MURDER Houston’s company lands a deal that could pave the way for the first shopping center in Ouna Bay, which is enough reason to celebrate at the local country club. But when the guest of honor is found dead at the party with one of Becky’s famous peanut butter crumble cupcakes, all eyes are on her! How did the cupcake make its way to that party? And who would want to frame Becky for the murder? And most importantly, why did the murder occur in the first place? Can Becky clear her name and find the real killer?
Relative Fortunes
Marlowe Benn - 2019
For sophisticated booklover Julia Kydd, life’s too short for politics. With her cropped hair and penchant for independent living, Julia wants only to launch her own new private press. But as a woman, Julia must fight for what’s hers—including the inheritance her estranged half brother, Philip, has challenged, putting her aspirations in jeopardy.When her friend’s sister, Naomi Rankin, dies suddenly of an apparent suicide, Julia is shocked at the wealthy family’s indifference toward the ardent suffragist’s death. Naomi chose poverty and hardship over a submissive marriage and a husband’s control of her money. Now, her death suggests the struggle was more than she could bear.Julia, however, is skeptical. Doubtful of her suspicions, Philip proposes a glib wager: if Julia can prove Naomi was in fact murdered, he’ll drop his claims to her wealth. Julia soon discovers Naomi’s life was as turbulent and enigmatic as her death. And as she gets closer to the truth, Julia sees there’s much more at stake than her inheritance…
K-Town Confidential
Brad Chisholm - 2021
The crime takes place in a gritty Koreatown ‘room salon' with Naomi holding the murder weapon. The case is tried in the L.A. media and everyone takes sides. The deeper Holly digs, the darker the secrets become. Holly risks everything to find the truth, only to learn that if she reveals it, Naomi goes to prison for life. If Holly keeps the secret, then Naomi may walk, but Holly will have betrayed her lover. No one will guess the plot twists in K-Town Confidential.
Truth Lies Waiting
Emma Salisbury - 2014
And you're now being framed for it. Only the person framing you is a cop... Davy Johnson is a young man from the wrong side of the tracks with a target on his back. After a spell in prison he is trying to make a life for himself but one cop won’t leave him alone, following him around and carting him off to the station just for the fun of it. The harassment turns sinister when Davy witnesses his nemesis overstep the mark with a local junkie – and makes the mistake of telling him he’s been seen. What happens next sees Davy framed for a string of murders with no one to help him but the gang leader he turned his back on when he got out of jail – but what will he want in return? With the help of an ex con and a local cabbie Davy goes on the run to prove his innocence but as the body count rises he discovers a connection between what’s happening now and a tragedy involving his father many years before. Will he be able to work out the truth from the lie in time to save the killer’s next victim? Scottish crime fiction with a sting in the tail...
The Signal
Nick Cook - 2018
Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence? When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart? The Signal is a prequel novella to the Fractured Light trilogy, and is part of the Multiverse Chronicles, an epic series of interlinked stories that follows the struggle of humanity to survive across parallel universes. Watch the skies because the darkness is coming for us. Please note that there is the occasional use of strong language in The Signal and the story deals with adult themes. Recommended age is 16+.
Marc Kadella Mystery Series Vol 3-6
Dennis Carstens - 2017
But before she can even be charged she’s been tried and convicted by the media, at the center of which is Melinda Pace, a cynical, mostly-functioning alcoholic Minneapolis television personality with a “legal news” show called The Court Reporter. Not even in the alternative universe of television news could she be described as a reporter, since she makes no attempt at or pretense of presenting the truth, or even the facts. She does do a great job of producing through-the-roof ratings and whipping the public into a frenzy—with tragic consequences.Book 4 – CERTAIN JUSTICE
A PSYCHOPATH'S BACK ON THE STREETS--AND HE'S OUT FOR REVENGE…
Marc was torn about his work for Howie Traynor—his first homicide case—but even he was relieved when Howie was put away for forty years… Until, a decade later, his case is re-opened. Seems the former tech in the BCA lab was falsifying DNA evidence to collude with cops in putting away suspected violent criminals. And now not only Howie, but a handful of wrongfully-accused felons, are back out on the streets.Marc and his longtime buddy PI Tony Caravelli don’t buy Howie’s come-to-Jesus act. And when an appeals judge with ties to the overturned cases winds up crucified in his own front yard, they’re convinced a dangerous killer has been wrongfully exonerated.Book 5 – PERSONAL JUSTICE
FIRST SHE KILLS HER HUSBANDS, THEN SHE DESTROYS THEIR FAMILIES…
Mackenzie Sutherland is shrouded in black at her most recent late husband’s funeral. Mackenzie’s not-so despondent face might tell more observant onlookers she’s not exactly your typical grieving widow—but then, no one can see through her veil. This is by design. Alluring and dangerously attractive, she’s been down this road before.Three times, in fact. In Dennis Carstens’ FIFTH hard-boiled legal thriller, we meet the classic black widow. All of Mackenzie’s late husbands were millionaires. Each died suddenly and quite mysteriously of massive heart attacks (in spite of no history of heart trouble). And each left their children with nothing—and their young, beautiful bride (of about a year or so) with millions.Book 6 – DELAYED JUSTICE
FRAUD LEADS TO MURDER. AND THIS TIME, IT’S PERSONAL...
Maddy Rivers has her reservations about her new relationship with Rob Judd. Sure, he’s a handsome and brilliant investment analyst in a wildly successful securities management firm. But he’s constantly distracted. It seems something about the firm’s not quite right—or so he finally lets on to Maddy.
Never Been Found
Kenneth S. Kappelmann - 2018
Now, her father has been found executed and a serial killer is leaving a trail of female bodies across the city. Are these cases related? Who could be behind such a wide spread epidemic of organized crime. As the case unwinds and more bodies stack up, O'Malley must choose between what his gut is telling him, and what the case is being designed to show. Will O'Malley find the killer, or is the killer leading the detective to a deadly frame-up of a young man in over his head? The missing girl may hold the answer, if only she could be found.
Rough Country
T.J. Brearton - 2020
A town with a dark secret.A young girl, Kasey, is murdered in the woods of northern New York, a strange symbol carved into her stomach.Investigator Reed Raleigh, Major Crimes, is tasked with finding the killer.Reed has his own troubles. He’s in therapy, divorced, estranged from his son. But he desperately needs to solve this case - his own stepdaughter vanished when she was a teenager and Reed knows all about the agony of having no closure. No way is he letting Kasey’s mother go through that.But as Reed begins to dig, the case grows ever more complex. Why is Kasey’s boyfriend acting so strangely? And why is her mother lying to the police?As evidence of Kasey’s bizarre secret life starts to emerge, Reed realises this case isn’t just about a dead girl. There’s something much bigger at play in this small rural town, a decades old secret that needs to be protected. At any cost.
Spade Work (Jack Dillon Dublin Tale #6)
Patrick Emmett - 2018
It appears random...until US Marshal Jack Dillon recognizes one of the victims. An Ace of Spades in the victims mouth? Someone's seen too many movies. At least that's the thinking until the card appears in another victim, and another, and another one after that, and... Fortunately they have a suspect... But then there's another murder he couldn't have possibly done. Somethings awfully wrong and it's up to US Marshal Jack Dillon to find out what's happening, and fast!